Thursday, December 17, 2009

Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, currently is the target of liberal wrath over his opposition to a government-run insurance plan in the health care bill.

Franken was presiding over the Senate Thursday afternoon as Lieberman spoke about amendments he planned to offer to the bill. Lieberman asked for an additional moment to finish — a routine request — but Franken refused to grant the time.

"In my capacity as the senator from Minnesota, I object," Franken said.

"Really?" said Lieberman. "OK."

Lieberman then said he'd submit the rest of his statement in writing.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona came to his friend Lieberman's defense, saying he'd never seen such a thing occur....

note: approximately 1200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2004, approximately 4000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors were living on the island of Diego Garcia

occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; site of joint US-UK military facility [airbase]

This program will cover all medically necessary services, including primary care, inpatient care, outpatient care, emergency care, prescription drugs, durable medical equipment, long term care, mental health services, dentistry, eye care, chiropractic, and substance abuse treatment. Patients have their choice of physicians, providers, hospitals, clinics, and practices. No co-pays or deductibles are permissible under this act.

...

A study by nationally recognized economist, Dean Baker, of the Center for Economic Research and Policy concluded that under H.R. 676, a family of three making $40,000 per year would spend approximately $1900 per year for healthcare coverage. Currently, (in 2007) the average annual premium for families covered under an employee health plan is $11,000. (National Coalition on Health Care.)

WASHINGTON – Citigroup Inc. will suspend foreclosures and evictions for 30 days in a temporary break for about 4,000 borrowers during the holiday season.

The New York-based bank said Thursday the suspension will run from Friday through Jan. 17. It applies only to borrowers whose loans are owned by Citi. Borrowers who make payments to Citi but whose loans are owned by other investors are out of luck.

"We want our borrowers to have a much less stressful time, to spend their time with their families during the holidays as opposed to worrying about their homes," Sanjiv Das, head of the company's mortgage division, said in an interview.

The suspension means Citi will halt foreclosure sales and stop evicting homeowners from properties it has already seized....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon has closed a security breach that allowed insurgents to hack into data feeds from pilotless "drone" aircraft that provide real-time video of war zones, a U.S. defense official said on Thursday.

The comments followed a report in the Wall Street Journal that revealed Shi'ite fighters in Iraq used software that cost as little as $26 to intercept the video feeds, potentially allowing them to monitor U.S. military operations....

"All the lonely people, where do they all come from?" the Beatles sang in "Eleanor Rigby." Well, now researchers know: Loneliness is contagious, according to a new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and can spread from person to person. Just as researchers have previously shown that happy people can make others feel exuberant, so, too, can lonely people make others feel desolate.

And this loneliness network can extend up to three degrees of separation. As the study authors write, "A person's loneliness depends not just on his friend's loneliness but also extends to his friend's friend and his friend's friend's friend." You might think: If someone has friends, how can she be lonely? But, speaking from experience, friends may talk about how "out of the loop" and disconnected they feel--even while they're conversing with each other. That sort of conversation can leave both people feeling down.

It can be worse for older folks, who often cut many of their social ties when they head into retirement and their kids move away. And this can have negative health consequences, according to a slew of previous studies. In young adulthood, the stress that comes with perceived social isolation can raise blood pressure and cholesterol, speed the aging process, and cause the body to accumulate dangerous fat around the abdomen. In a person's senior years, this same isolation can lead to a progression of Alzheimer's disease, less independent living, clogged arteries, and even death.

In a new survey, a quarter of Britons say they believe Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is "definitely true," with another quarter saying it is "probably true." That left half of the 2,060 people surveyed stating they were either strongly opposed to the theory or confused about it. That's how the survey was presented in The Guardian, with a headline claiming "half of Britons do not believe in evolution."

To those who know evolution to be a solid scientific theory, this poll might seem a glum assessment of public opinion. But let's break that latter half down, as the Guardian subsequently did:...

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My Liberal Identity

You are a Social Justice Crusader, also known as a rights activist. You believe in equality, fairness, and preventing neo-Confederate conservative troglodytes from rolling back fifty years of civil rights gains.